


Great Expectations

by rattyjol



Category: Vorkosigan Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold
Genre: Gen, Hero Worship, Post-Cryoburn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-28
Updated: 2015-07-28
Packaged: 2018-04-11 17:09:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4444754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rattyjol/pseuds/rattyjol
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Growing up, Da tells them stories about his adventures with the Dendarii. He tells them about Commodore Tung and Captain Thorne and Commander-Captain-Admiral Quinn, and the Bothari-Jeseks and all the rest, but Taurie's favorite stories have always been about Sergeant Taura.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Great Expectations

**Author's Note:**

> written for classics_lover at comment_fic LJ: [Any (except Supernatural), any +/ any, hero worship from afar](http://comment-fic.livejournal.com/640894.html?thread=87155838#t87168638)

Growing up, Da tells them stories about his adventures with the Dendarii. He tells them about Commodore Tung and Captain Thorne and Commander-Captain-Admiral Quinn, and the Bothari-Jeseks and all the rest, but Taurie's favorite stories have always been about Sergeant Taura. Da says he rescued her from some bad people on Jackson's Whole, like a princess from a tower, and his eyes go kind of far away, and he stays like that until Taurie pokes him and asks him to tell the story again about how Sergeant Taura once beat twelve armed bad guys empty-handed,  _please_ , Da.

There are three holoimages of Sergeant Taura from Da and Mama's wedding. Da loads them onto a little holocube, and Taurie keeps it in her room and looks at them when she's sad. She's so beautiful and tall, and Taurie can believe it when Roic says she saved Mama's life.

For a long time, she thinks being named after the sergeant means that when she's grown, she'll be eight feet tall and grow fangs and be able to eat people whole. (Da and Roic say she never ate anyone, but Nikki said she did, and Taurie likes the idea.) Mama laughs for three whole minutes when Taurie tells her this, and says eight feet and fangs just aren't in their genes—but, she supposes, one never knows.

Someday, she tells Da and Roic and Helen and Uncle Ivan and anyone who'll listen, someday she's going to join the Dendarii, just like Sergeant Taura.

Alex says no she won't, she's going to get married and have babies, and Taurie says it's not fair, he gets to go into the Service and be a Count and have adventures, so why can't she, and anyway girls can do anything they want, Grandmama Cordelia says so, and then she starts crying and Alex says see, they don't let crybabies join the Dendarii, and so Taurie hits him and then Mama comes in and scolds them both, and Taurie doesn't talk about joining the Dendarii again. But she locks it away in her heart like a secret, and keeps the holocube to look at when she's sad, and she knows that someday, she's going to prove him wrong.


End file.
